#Art in Your Wallet It is true. A Visit Will Get You Thinking and a library card, the #Art in Your Wallet, connects to collections, services, spaces, programs and technologies that make a difference in the lives of our communities. The #Art in Your Wallet team (Sue, Debbie & Stephen) want to thank the libraries that have already shared their stories and their library card images for the book. What great diversity and inspiration! Almost 90 public libraries have contributed to date. Our goal is to include all libraries in this book that celebrates library cards, so we have a few more to go. While the focus is in on the art in your wallet, we are celebrating ALL library cards and the images on the card. Town and library logos, photographs, paintings, whatever images are on the cards, are a product of design, art and creativity, and worthy of celebrating. Libraries are dynamic, and some of you might be in the process of rebranding, but as with any book, this is a snapshot in time, so please send us the information you have now. Maybe there will be second edition! We have extended the submission date to Oct 6 (Thanksgiving weekend) which will give the team time to edit, publish and prepare for the launch of the book at the 2018 OLA Super Conference. We would love to include your library in the book. Don’t be left out! Direct all submissions and any questions to Deb Duce at Huntsville PL. Deborah Duce<Deborah.Duce@huntsvillelibrary.ca> Thank you so much. Sue, Deb and...

FOPL has done four of these 1.5 day symposia in partnership with the iSchool at the University of Toronto about new measurement strategies for libraries for four years. They have been very well received and well attended. FOPL and OLA members receive a 20% discount. It’s time for the 2017 edition! This is especially vital as we continue the consultations with the province with the Public Library Program Funding Review, head into the 2018 budget priority setting exercise, our Library Day at Queen’s Park in November, and, not to mention, prepare for a 2018 election. With the publication of the book by OLA Press “Creating a Culture of Evaluation” in 2017 we’re at a landmark point in our efforts to build a stronger foundation for new library metrics. These symposia are a key pillar of our Libraries 2025 strategies for the province. Consider attending or sending someone from your library to this symposium. Outcomes, Value & Impact: Metrics for Library Success www.metricsandlibraries.org Monday & Tuesday, Oct 2nd & 3rd, 2017 at the iSchool at the University of Toronto The current world is challenging all organizations to demonstrate their financial value and economic impact in ways that are new to many of us. All types of libraries are being asked to prove their worth in terms of the amount of money taxpayers or stockholders invest versus the value they receive in return. Join us for in-depth conversations and hands-on practice as well as tips and techniques to apply more metrics in your organization. Explore opportunities for new value measurements Put metrics into the context of libraries Share exciting measurement programs already in place by pioneers Grab ideas for future...

A great initiative from SOLS’ joint initiative with the Trillium Book Award. Let’s make sure this is a success – one e-book for all of Ontario! (Of course, you’ll want to purchase print copies too! Watch for more exciting announcements! Save the Date for Together We Read: Ontario! The Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) is excited to be collaborating with the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) on a joint initiative to promote the work of Ontario authors via a Provincial eBook Club program this fall! Together We Read: Ontario will feature two weeks of unlimited access to a Trillium award-winning title via the Ontario Library Service Download Centre site, and through the OverDrive sites of any additional public libraries in Ontario that wish to participate. This program is set to coincide with Ontario Public Library Week and will run from October 16 – 30. SOLS is mandated to deliver programs and services on behalf of the Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. SOLS’s mission is to ensure that the public has equitable access to library services thus supporting a dynamic cultural environment, economic vitality and quality of life. OMDC supports the province’s creative economy by providing innovative programs, services and funding for content creators. They support Ontario authors in part through the Trillium Book Award: an annual award that has been honouring literary excellence for the past 30 years. Details on the featured title will be available shortly. Member libraries of the Ontario Library Service Download Centre site will automatically have access to this title. All other Ontario Public Libraries with an OverDrive site may enroll for participation...

Edmonton Public Library worked with Nordicity to calculate the library’s economic impact on the City of Edmonton. Using a methodology similar to that used by Toronto Public Library, Edmonton Public Library’s impact is significant: EPL’s total economic impact is calculated by adding the the value of using collections, and the value of programs and services, to the impact of operations spending, to arrive at a figure of $187 million, annually (averaged over a 3-year period) For every dollar spent, EPL generates $3.11 in value, or the equivalent of $212 per resident EPL and Nordicity calculate the Use Value, which is the value that library customers derive from using EPL’s collections, programs and services. EPL generates a total of $131.5 million in value for Edmonton residents Edmontonians save at least $131.5 million per year by using the library Access the full study: Economic Impact Report Infographic...

Are you looking to up your game on social media and to create measurable community engagement? Are you trying to engage your communities and not merely tell them about your resources and programs? FOPL has a solution that is winning kudos from our members! And it’s free high value professional development for FOPL member organizations. FOPL’s OpenMediaDesk project takes flight again Tuesday September 12th at 10am. OMD is a library-friendly, purpose-built methodology to deepen the relationships between libraries and the communities they serve by telling more impactful library stories by designing better library stories. OMD is unique: a media lab for working library marketing, programming and communications staff, the curriculum teaches all manner of marketing and communications skills. Attached is a report with more information and we can answer your questions easily. FOPL_OMD_report_17April2017_bh003 (1) Since October of 2016, library staff from some 30 library systems as diverse as Toronto Public and Cochrane, Vaughan to St Marys, have thrived in OMD’s open, collaborative learning environment, discovering a new-found confidence and pride in both their creative and strategic skills over eight two hour sessions. This high impact social media / marketing-communication training is targeted to cover most of Ontario public libraries by 2018. Led by media specialist Brendan Howley, a former CBC investigative journalist and Fortune 500 content strategist, OMD has won rave reviews (93% positive) from participants, who love the hands-on, peer-to-peer dynamic. Folks learn—and they continue to learn. Participant engagement is high and the results speak for themselves: participants from earlier cohorts continue to hang out online with present OMDers. On-call, by request intensives on select Monday mornings, the...